More Than Just Numbers!
When most people think of financial modelling they think numbers. Important numbers which help you understand various areas of your business. But having a strong financial model is about more than just numbers. It can also provide a host of, often unconsidered, positive benefits. Derived from recent case studies and our own community of Blox users, here are some of the indirect benefits encountered from having a strong financial model.
More time to invest into other areas of your business
Financial modelling can be a time-consuming process, especially when you don’t have a qualified team in place to do the work for you. Despite this, you put the time in because you know the significance of having a strong financial plan in place. What if you could save time, allowing you to invest more time in other areas of your business? Sounds great, right? Well you can!
A client from one of our recent case studies previously used spreadsheets to create their financial model which they described as “clunky” and “time consuming”.
“I think about two days a month, which might not seem a lot, but she's only part time. And I'm really busy. So that's actually quite significant. Yeah. Both of us. So, four days total, I'd say.” Spending four days a month on creating their financial models was eating up valuable time which would be much more effectively invested elsewhere.
Having a system in place to enable you to create your financial models with ease will save you time, time which you can put into other areas of your business which need it more.
Simplify the whole process
If your data is accurate and you are confident in how to build your model, you can simplify the whole process of not just creating your model, but adapting and analysing it too.
For one of the businesses that reached out, with our help and guidance, they were able to simplify their process and save time. “It does it all for you. As long as you are putting in the information correctly, it does it all for you and I can clearly see everything that I need.”
Blox was created to do the work for you, providing you with all the information you need to make the best decisions for your business- all in one place, with minimal time and effort.“What's amazing about this new way of working is that it's all there in one place.”
Having all of the information in one place and being able to customise their plans accordingly made a significant difference to how much time they spent creating their models. Being able to provide customised models with little time and effort. “Some would like that in a percentage, some would like that in numbers. So you know, we're always having to work it out differently.” Now it’s simple.
Reduces the stress around planning - allowing for a happier, more productive workplace
“Whereas before I'd approach the whole thing like oh, gosh, we've got to, you know, really have the right headspace for this today because it's not my gifting. But I can just open it up, look at the information and it tells me everything I need to know. And it's just like this massive weight that's been shifted and lifted off my shoulders if I'm honest.” Rather than being filled with dread at the thought of having to create or update your financial model, having a way to do this without that stress and weight of the task in front of you is a game changer.
Being able to eliminate avoidable stressors from your workplace allows for a much positive atmosphere and as a result better productivity. “ And yeah, my colleague, Sally, and I, rather than meeting up at 8:30 on a Friday … with a cup of tea, and you're like, oh, okay, well, let's start. Let's get going. You know, now it's like, brilliant. Easy.”
Open doors to new opportunities
“Yes, so one of our big funders wanted to see more complex reporting, and challenged us around that. It was an expectation. And at the time, we didn't have this, which is around the time I reached out to you. And they were holding off agreeing to our next three years funding until we could prove that we could do certain things.” A strong financial model does more than just provide you with the basics. And the benefits of that can be life changing. In contrast, a lack of that can be detrimental. A model which is adaptable which can meet the requirements of clients, investors or funders for example can open up doors to new opportunities- ones which otherwise would be missed. Being able to provide all of the relevant information will allow you to be able to tap into all of the potential benefits and opportunities available to you.
It can help you track more than just finances
“…it just tells a story in a bigger picture.” A strong financial plan tells a story, broadens your understanding and helps you manage all areas of your business. “And, you know, I'm not a numbers person, but I can see how that actually tells me something else about the charity that I didn't understand before.”
It can allow you to see what's going on in certain areas at certain times and help you make decisions in relation to that. For example, through helping them create a strong financial model they were able to see that they were particularly busy towards the end of the year. They expressed how that helped them do things like manage annual leave more efficiently. “It also helps us plan ahead for like staffing needs and capacity issues, you know, we're not going to perhaps say yes to everyone having holiday around that time if we know that's going to be a busy period for us. So it's quite an all those bigger consequences as well.”
It helps you see your figures in a more positive light
“It is fun. Because I'm reading it and it's telling me a story about the charity. And I've recently started looking at our figures in the same way.” It’s amazing how much your outlook can change when the stress is removed and something becomes straightforward. A strong financial plan which can be created in a simple, straightforward manner and be customised to meet different requirements can really help you see the whole process in a more positive light- and might I even say make it fun.
Blox, and its marketplace of expert-build fully customisable models, was created to free you from the stress, mess, and laborious nature of financial modelling and make it enjoyable, letting you look at it in a new light.
Get started with Blox for free, no credit-card required, at https://app.blox.so/signup
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